New Beginnings
by Musical Missy
Summary: After the former Guardians gave up their powers to live normal Earth lives, five new Guardians had to be selected to protect the Earth. But as new threats arrive, will the new five be able to handle the struggles that the former Guardians took to so easily? Rated T just in case.
1. Prologue

"What? They wish to revert to their human forms _permanently?_" The council stared at the Oracle, who only stared back serenely. As much as the Guardians wishing to revert back to their human forms worried her, she knew that she couldn't let the council know of her fears.

"I believe they said that they 'wanted to live human lives before college started'," the Oracle said. "But who can truly blame them? They have been Guardians since they were thirteen. In hindsight, perhaps they should have been a little bit older…"

"Are you saying that the previous decision was a _poor _one?" one of the council members hissed, and the other members mumbled their agreement with him. The Oracle sighed to herself. She should have known that she should have phrased it better.

"What I'm trying to say is this," she said. "As a former Guardian myself, it is perhaps expecting too much of thirteen and fourteen year old girls to maintain all the responsibilities of a Guardian. Heavens know that during my time as a Guardian, some of my members certainly did," she said, and then watched some of the council members squirm slightly.

"But what about the new Guardians?" one council member asked quietly. "While the Guardians may have taken some of their responsibilities on too early, at least at this stage in their life they would be experienced and they would know each other well enough to cooperate. These new Guardians could perhaps be complete strangers to each other as far as the council knows." The Oracle looked down at her blue robes, thinking hard, as the council began muttering again. She knew that this council member was right, but how could she tell them that?

"Perhaps there is some truth to that statement," she said finally. "But perhaps we need some new Guardians—what did my granddaughter use to say?—to 'shake things up a bit.'"


	2. Chapter One: Rajani

As it always happened on the first day of school, Rajani was running late.

This time it wasn't her fault. This time she could put the blame on her younger sister, Kaveri, who had spent forever in the bathroom trying to looking her best for her first day of freshman year. As a result, the two of them were running into school just as the tardy bell rang.

"Shit!" Rajani said, earning her a glare from one of the campus supervisors. "Sorry. Kaveri, why couldn't you move more quickly in the bathroom?" Kaveri rolled her eyes.

"You aren't so perfect either, Rajani," Kaveri snapped as the two of them walked over to the main staircase. "May I remind you, it was you who overslept _as usual_ on the first day?"

"It wasn't my fault! It was my stupid phone!" Rajani yelled after her, but it was too late. Kaveri had already run up the stairs to go to her first period class. "I ought to give that a scolding too," Rajani muttered under her breath as she pulled out her schedule, trying to find her first class. "AP US History, room two-thirty-three," Rajani said, and then ran up the stairs. She tried opening the door, but realized it was locked. She knocked on the door, feeling her cheeks already beginning to burn with the embarrassment of it all.

"Stupid phone," she mumbled under her breath as the teacher opened the door. The teacher, a man, raised his eyebrows at her as she scurried past him.

"Glad you could join us today, Miss…?" he said, as Rajani stood at the front of the room, unsure of where to go.

"Uh…Majety. Rajani Majety," Rajani said, feeling her cheeks burn even more. She could hear a few sniggers already, and she wished the floor would open up and swallow her right there.

"Well then, Miss Majety," the teacher said. "I don't know about you, but I'm fairly certain that class starts at seven-forty-five sharp. Is that right?"

"Yes, sir," Rajani mumbled.

"Yes, Mr. Fischer," Mr. Fischer corrected. "Go sit behind Miss Bernat, please." Rajani looked up, and realized she was sitting behind her friend, Willow. She scurried off to her seat, grateful that she wasn't the class' attention any longer. Willow turned around, a smirk playing on her lip-gloss covered lips.

"What took you so long this time?" she whispered.

"Miss Bernat," Mr. Fischer called.

"Sorry Mr. Fischer," Willow called back. "We'll talk later," she whispered to Rajani as she turned back around. Rajani sighed. So far, her first day wasn't shaping out to be a success.

"This is all my stupid phone's fault," she muttered as she pulled out her pencil case and notebook. "I set the alarm; why didn't it go off?"

"As a matter of fact, I did go off," a voice snapped. "It's not my fault you had me set to vibrate instead of one of the alarm sounds." Rajani paused. The voice was high-pitched, almost nasal, and from what she could gather, the voice was fairly close to her too.

"Who said that?" Rajani whispered, mostly to herself, as she looked around the classroom, trying to figure out the source of the voice.

"Down here! In your bag!" the voice snapped again. Rajani looked around, thanking the gods that no one was paying attention to her, before pulling her backpack onto her lap. She rifled through the front pocket, through her make-up and spare tampons, before pulling out her cellphone. She held it in her palm, confused. Had she accidently backpack dialed someone?

"Finally!" her cellphone said, its screen flashing white each time it spoke. "Do you know how stuffy it was in there? And so dark too! Why can't you be like most teenagers and leave your phone in your pocket? But never mind that now. What were we talking about? Oh yes. Your choice of alarm. How about you set up a nice marimba sound? Oh! Or a nice piano?"

"Who's talking?" Rajani whispered. She unlocked her phone, hoping to end the call, but there was no indication that there _was _someone on the other end of the line. She swallowed, beginning to feel a little bit uncomfortable now.

"Your cellphone, of course!" her cellphone snapped. "Really, who did you think was talking? Your mother?"

"To be quite honest, yes," Rajani snapped back. "How can you _talk?_ You're not a person! You're just some circuitry. You're not _supposed _to talk!"

"Well don't ask me how it happened," her phone huffed. "You're the one who was whining about it was all _my _fault that you weren't woken up on time, but in reality, who left her phone on vibrate?"

"Look, let's forget that for the moment," Rajani said through gritted teeth. "Can we just save this for a later time, like, I don't know, _not in the middle of APUSH?_"

"Well, put me in your pocket, and we wouldn't have to deal with this conversation," her phone said. "Please? I don't want to go back into the dark again!"

"Oh, quit being so melodramatic," Rajani said, rolling her eyes. "You'll live—well, function. Going back into the pocket won't kill you."

"Easy for _you _to say," her phone said. "You haven't been in there!"

"Oh my God," Rajani whispered. "You're a _phone_. You shouldn't be caring about these things!"

"Who are we talking to, Miss Majety?" a voice said, making Rajani jump. She looked up, and her heart sank. Mr. Fischer was standing over her, his stack of syllabi in hand.

"Just….just to myself, Mr. Fischer," Rajani said, lying through her teeth.

"Uh-huh," Mr. Fischer said, not falling for it. "Then why is your phone out?"

"Because…because…" Rajani said, trying to come up with something that would sound somewhat plausible. _I heard it ringing? No, because he would have heard it. I had to text my mom? No, because that breaks school rules too…_

"Well, never mind about your excuses," Mr. Fischer said. "You are aware of the school rules about cell phone rules in class, Rajani?"

"Yes," Rajani whispered. She stared at her desk as Mr. Fischer put a yellow slip of paper on her desk.

"Report to room one-oh-three after school, Rajani. You have a one-hour detention," Mr. Fischer said. "I'm sorry that you had to break the rules on the first day of school, Rajani."

"Tough break," Willow whispered as Mr. Fischer left a syllabus on both of their desks and walked back up to the front of the room to continue his lecture.

"I know," Rajani groaned.


End file.
